It was a big day for the Australian athletes at the Paris Olympics with medals picked up in Swimming and Equestrian, while many others advanced.
O’Callaghan wins gold for Australia
Mollie O’Callaghan has won gold in the 200m freestyle final, finishing with an Olympic record time of 1:53.27. She just pipped fellow compatriot Ariarne Titmus who finished in second just 0.54 seconds off O’Callaghan’s time.
O’Callaghan sat in fifth position at the 100-metre mark, before timing her run to perfection to win out ahead of Titmus and Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong. With the victory the 20-year-old becomes only the fourth Australian to win Olympic gold in the women’s 200m freestyle.
The other names to achieve this feat are Ariarne Titmus in 2020, Susie O’Neill (2000) and Shane Gould (1972), to put the young star in rare company.
O’Callaghan spoke highly of Titmus to the Nine Network after her win.
“She is an absolute gun,” O’Callaghan told Nine. “She races like an absolute beast and it’s an honour to train alongside her and have such a great team around us.”
The young star invited Titmus onto the first-place podium during the medal ceremony, in a touching tribute with her fellow countrywoman.
Burton wins silver medal in Equestrian event
Christopher Burton has won the silver medal in the Equestrian individual eventing, in an unexpected result for the 42-year-old. Burton had only been riding his horse ‘Shadow Man’ for the past five months after having it loaned to him.
Burton narrowly missed out on the gold medal, coming second to German great Michael Jung by only 0.60 points. It would’ve been Australia’s first gold medal in eventing since Matt Ryan won at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.
Burton was in shock speaking to the Nine Network after the event.
“It hasn’t sunk in,” Burton told Nine. “You sort of keep your head down and try to stay focused on the job at hand, but I’m sure it’ll sink in later.”
Australia’s women’s Rugby 7’s team dismantle Ireland
Australia have smashed Ireland to advance to the semi-finals in the women’s Rugby 7’s competition. Led by Maddison Levi who scored three tries, the Australian’s started well and never looking back, charging into the semi-finals with a 40-7 win.
With her great game Levi also became the greatest try scorer in a single Olympics with 11. The girls will now face Canada in the semi-final for the chance to play-off in the gold medal match.
Hockeyroos dominate Great Britain
The Hockeyroos made it two wins from as many games after beating Great Britain 4-0. A strong second quarter was the highlight, which saw the Aussies score two quick goals to set up the win.
Rebecca Greiner scored in the 17th minute, before Alice Arnott (19th), Tatum Stewart (46th) and Grace Stewart (52nd minute) also scored to pile on the pain for Great Britain. The Aussies now sit on top of their pool with three games still left to play.
They next play against the United States on Wednesday night, where they will be looking for another good performance.
Robinson advances to quarter-finals in Surfing event
Australia’s Jack Robinson has beaten USA’s John John Florence in the surfing heats, advancing to the semi-finals. Robinson put together an impressive heat, scoring 13.94 total points to Florence’s 9.07.
Both surfers faced big wipeouts early in the heat before Robinson found his best wave, a 7.17 score. Florence answered quickly with a 6.50 scoring wave but ran out of time to find a second strong wave.
Garside medal hopes dashed with upset loss
Harry Garside has disappointingly bowed out of the men’s 63.5kg boxing category, after a Round of 16 loss. After winning the first round 3-2, Garside failed to land enough scoring shots. He lost the last two rounds 5-0, going down two rounds to one.
Garside had high hopes of delivering Australia’s first gold medal in the sport after achieving a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics. The 27-year-old was devastated after his unexpected loss.
“I feel like a failure,” Garside said.
“I love Australia and I really envisioned winning that gold medal for Australia.”
“Australia is such a sporting nation, and I’m so sorry.”
Photo: Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower, Paris 2024 by Ibex73 is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.
